Texas Gov. Abbott says there will be ‘total chaos’ if Title 42 is halted

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Sunday predicted there would be “total chaos” at the border if the controversial immigration policy Title 42 is lifted on Wednesday as planned.

“If the courts do not intervene and put a halt to the removal of Title 42, it’s going to be total chaos,” he told ABC’s “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.

A federal judge last month ordered the Biden administration to halt the use of Title 42, giving officials five weeks to phase out use of the policy.

Those five weeks end on Wednesday, prompting cheers from immigration advocates who call the policy cruel and inhumane, while angering Republicans and border state officials who say Title 42 helped address a growing border crisis.

Title 42, first implemented under the Trump administration in 2020, allows border officials to expel migrants at the border under a public health emergency during the pandemic, disregarding any claims of asylum.

The policy has been used to turn away migrants 2.5 million times since 2020.

Abbott argued to keep the policy in place in part due to the ongoing pandemic.

“There’s every reason to keep that in place,” he said. “Some do come across with COVID and no one knows exactly who comes across with COVID — these people are not tested when they come across the border.”

Abbott said he supported those coming to the country with valid asylum cases but said their claims are “pushed further and further” in backlogs along with thousands of illegal migrants.